Songkran road accidents cost Bt1 billion
Fatal road accidents over the 10-day Songkran holiday cost the country more than Bt1 billion, the director general of the Probation Department Wanchai Roujanavong said on Friday.
If the cost of each of the 476 deaths was put at Bt3 million, Thailand suffered an economic loss of more than Bt1 billion, excluding medical expenses and the cost to society for the care of those maimed.Wanchai said most of the road accidents were caused by drunk driving. As part of its campaign to reduce drunk driving, the Probation Department is to counsel 4,841 drivers, bailed after being arrested for drinkdriving during the holiday, on the dangers of alcohol and make them help people suffering from mental problems caused by alcoholism. They will also be required to do the usual social service of caring for accident victims at hospital emergency units, he said. Chiang Mai topped the list of drinkdriving arrests over Songkran with 694 cases, followed by Bangkok with 428, Nakhon Ratchasima with 350, Songkhla with 233 and Maha Sarakham with 186. Most drunk drivers were aged between 18 and 25. Wanchai said provinces that refused to get tough on drunk drivers tended to incur more accidents. As an example, Chiang Rai police arrested and put on probation just one drunk driver and it ended up with the most accidents over Songkran, with 223 cases. Conversely, Chiang Mai caught 694 drunk drivers yet had only 199 accidents, a low figure compared to the province's huge number of revellers. Wanchai said he would contact provincial governors and ask them to set up more checkpoints to arrest drunk drivers and put them on probation. The penalties they suffer, he said, would go a long way to discouraging them from reoffending, not to mention the prospect of far harsher punishment for a repeat offence. The Natoin
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